PDP To Treat Baraje, Oyinlola, Others As Criminals

The Peoples Democratic Party on Friday welcomed the ruling of an Abuja court legitimising the Bamanga Tukur-led leadership of the party and asked all Nigerians to treat any persons referring to themselves as separatist leaders of the party as criminals.
The ruling party said this in a statement by its spokesman, Olisa Metuh, while reacting to an Abuja court judgement that ordered the Abubakar Baraje- led faction to stop parading itself as a parallel arm of the party.

Mr. Metuh said the leadership of the party had received the judgement of the Federal High Court upholding the leadership of the party under its National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur. He said the ruling of the court was absolutely clear, direct and unambiguous.
“The PDP has only one duly elected National Executive Committee under the National Chairmanship of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,” he said. ”Any group of persons parading themselves as leaders of this organ of our party are impostors and must be treated as criminals by all and sundry.”

Mr. Baraje is the leader of a faction of the PDP tagged ‘New PDP’ that has as members seven serving governors, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and other leaders of the party.
Embattled former National Secretary of the PDP, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is the National Secretary of the Baraje faction.
Mr. Metuh said, henceforth, the PDP would no longer tolerate or condone any meeting, utterances, press statements and/or activities whatsoever under its name, flag and colours by any unauthorised person or group(s), under any guise.

“As a law abiding party, the PDP remained calm in the face of the unwarranted attacks of the last few months. Our leaders chose the path of caution and decorum. But our reconciliatory moves, and offer of olive branch, were treated with the highest disdain and viewed as signs of weakness,” the party spokesperson said.
“The National Working Committee has therefore directed that the name, colour, flag and the provisions of constitution of our party must be held sacrosanct by our members. The PDP has adequate internal mechanism for resolution of disagreements and members are advised to express their grievances through such.”

The spokesperson also thanked all PDP members who kept faith and remained loyal to the constitution of the party through the challenges of the last few months.
Reconciliatory efforts led by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the disputes between the PDP and the Baraje faction have been unsuccessful with the latter demanding the removal of Bamanga Tukur as party chairman and the non-participation of President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential elections.

October 19, 2013